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Director Peter Jackson is rushing to put the finishing touches to the first installment of The Hobbit ahead of its world premiere on Wednesday.

The Lord of the Rings filmmaker wrapped an epic 266-day shoot in New Zealand in early July and the first movie in the highly-anticipated trilogy, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, is due to be unveiled in the city of Wellington this week.

However, in Jackson's final video blog about the making of the fantasy franchise, he confesses he and his post-production team are scrambling to complete the final edit before their deadline.

In the clip, posted online on Saturday, he says, "It's due to be completed literally two days before the premiere... hopefully...

"You're gonna see a lot of sleep-deprived people in this blog. Everyone's working around the clock to get the film finished."

Officials in New Zealand are gearing up for a big week as they prepare to celebrate the release of the movie - they have renamed Wellington "The Middle of Middle-Earth" and have released a collection of special coins based on the franchise, which can be used as legal tender.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is based on J.R.R. Tolkien's classic novel and stars Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins.

It is set to hit theatres next month and will be followed by The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug in December, 2013, and The Hobbit: There and Back Again the following summer.

Jackson isn't the only blockbuster filmmaker to cut it close when it comes to completing films just in time for premieres - Sam Mendes was working on the latest James Bond movie Skyfall right up until the film first hit cinema screens.